Take Away

Rubber Meets The Road Two more ways to reinforce content at meetings: 1) Require speakers to engage session participants in reflec- tion and application. RSA Conference events—for informa- tion-security profes- sionals—mandate that all presenters use an“apply slide” to offer key tips for implementing their session content (see On_the_Web, below). 2) Capture and bundle key takeaways at the conference. One idea: Create “Two-Minute Takeaways,” in which each presenter shares on video or audio two key takeaways from his or her session.

Leading Learning By Jeffrey Cufaude

OwntheOutcome

As planners, we need to accept responsibility for a speaker’s presentation—and the kind of impact it will have on participants’ behavior and performance when they get back to the office.

Even the most rigorous program-proposal process cannot guarantee session and speaker quality. Many subject-matter experts can de- liver information, but are less skilled in facilitat- ing conversation and interaction.We wouldn’t hire employees to do a job without providing the training and tools they need to be successful —and it’s time we stop turning speakers loose without adequate direction. We need to own the outcomes of every sin-

gle speaker’s efforts. Here’s how: Help presenters connect their content

to your context. PPAI (Promotional Products Association International) gives presenters sev- eral well-designed information sheets offering an overview of the profession and the confer- ence community, including key demographics, trends data, current critical issues, and a defi- nition of key terms and acronyms. Offer in-person or webinar training or

Jeffrey Cufaude is a former higher-education administrator, meeting planner, and association executive. Currently he designs and presents high-impact learning experiences, including engaging conference keynotes and workshops. Learn more about his work atwww.idea architects.org or follow him atwww.twitter .com/jcufaude.

coaching to help speakers refine their content, develop more engaging learning experiences, and make better use of visuals. Training can’t just tell presenters what to do, but must show them, offering before and after examples. Create an online resource center with information on interactive-learning formats, slide design, stock photography and art, and discussion boards for presenters to interact with one another. Use evaluation scores for quality control.

Speakers who fall below the average score for certain criteria that you’ve determined to be important should be coached individually before a return engagement. Create an informal Presenter Resource

Team, consisting of seasoned and well-received presenters who are available to other presen- ters as sounding boards and coaches. Start a peer-evaluator program withvol- unteers who observe presenters, and facilitate

post-program debriefs about what seemed to work well and what opportunities for enhance- ment they (and the presenters) identified. Provide presenters with videos oftheir

sessions, using Flip video cameras. Peer eval- uators could use these recordings when work- ing with the speakers, and edited excerpts of best practices could be uploaded to your online resource center.

Nomatter how great a speaker is, how valu-

able the content, or how interactive the format, what’s happening is an exchange of informa- tion or knowledge. True learning only happens when participants try to implement that infor- mation in their work setting. This means con- ference design must intentionally support the application of information shared—and sup- port and facilitate the learning that then occurs. We need to own the outcomes of what hap-

pens in the workplace. Here’s how: Change workshop-session learning out-

comes from “At the end of this session, partic- ipants will…” to “In theworkplace, participants should be capable of….” By extending the time frame for success, presenters must rethink their content and delivery method. Experiment with re-engagement oppor-

tunities that allow conference participants to reconnect 30 or 60 days after an event and have facilitated exchanges—through audioconfer- ences, webinars, TweetChats, listservs, and dis- cussion boards. Conduct a brief follow-up evaluation

several months after your conference to meas- ure content staying power and impact. Offer designated sessions in partici- pant-driven formats—such asWorld Café, Open Space, or unconference—when appro- priate, to help participants distill the confer- ence’s content and discuss how to apply it.

ON_THE_WEB: To see how RSA Conference speakers help participants put their content into practice, visit https://365.rsaconference.com/community/speakers.

ILLUSTRATION BY JEAN TUTTLE pcma convene January 2011 27